Reading scores at Central Elementary School in Portage have increased dramatically since a literacy coach began working with teachers.
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Central is among the schools required by state law, beginning in 2022-2023, to have an instructional coach because of IREAD-3 pass rates below 70%.
The Indiana Literacy Cadre’s goal is to have 95% of students taking the IREAD-3 test pass by 2027.
The idea is to make sure students are able to read by the time they finish third grade, so they have a solid foundation for continued learning.
IREAD-3 is now administered statewide in second grade.
“We love the idea of literacy coaches, but as you know, funding is something that we really have to keep an eye on,” Director of Grants and Assessments Linda Williams said.
The goal is to eventually have one coach for every two elementary schools, Superintendent Amanda Alaniz said.
“It’s really important that you see the growth rate that Central Elem experienced,” Williams said.
In 2024, 66.1% of Central students taking the IREAD-3 passed the test, well below the threshold. But just a year later, 86.8% passed, literacy coach Tabitha Henry told the Portage Township School Board on Monday, for a jump of 20.7 percentage points, the highest in the school district.
Not counting all the students eligible for a good cause exemption, and 100% of Central’s remaining students passed. That compares to a statewide average of 92.5%.
Under the state guidelines, Henry is required to be in the classroom one to three times a week. “I actually go in the classroom four times a week, and I teach with them,” she said.
“I really admire going in four to five times a week,” board Vice President Wilma Vazquez said.
“Teachers can attend professional development teaching sessions,” but hands-on help in the classroom is better than just telling teachers what to do, she said. The teachers and the students aren’t the only ones who benefit.
“We have some wonderful teachers at Central, and I’ve learned a lot from them,” Henry said. She meets with her colleagues and mentors elsewhere, too, for additional training.
“Obviously, what you’re doing is working. Those are dramatic results,” board President Andy Maletta said.
“The changes that you see, it helps to have support at the ground level for our teachers,” Alaniz said.
“On-demand learning for our educators is going to be the best way for them to hit the ground running,” she added.
Students are given before and after assessments – the identical test – to measure their progress. In one class, the number exceeding the goal rose from 14% beforehand to 83% afterward. The number struggling the worst fell from 63% beforehand to 11% afterward, Henry’s data showed.
Maletta asked, “Can we clone you?”
Next year, Henry will stay at Central and add Myers Elementary to her portfolio, Alaniz said.
With one literacy coach per two elementaries, the coaches will focus on kindergarten through second grade with some help for third grade, too. “We think that can be managed,” Alaniz said.
In other business, the board approved a $2.6 million contract for a roof for the new Aylesworth Middle School, which will replace Willowcreek Middle School, and a $25,840 contract with Alliance Environmental Solutions for asbestos abatement at the former IT building just west of Aylesworth Elementary School.
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Work on the new middle school project will begin in just a few weeks.
In about four weeks, crews will start digging a detention pond. In June, the former IT building will be razed, with demolition of the former Aylesworth Elementary to begin around July 15.
Deliveries to the construction site will be scheduled to avoid the times when students are arriving or leaving, project manager Paul Todoroski said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.